This recipe is a perennial favorite in my home. Over the years, I’ve experimented with many techniques, and this one is easily the best. Brining keeps the meat moist, and brining with konbu adds an amazing savory succulence. To get crackling skin over the juicy meat, I broil the cut pieces just before serving. The combination of textures is out of this world.

　　

Ingredients

Serves 4

　　

BRINE

12 sprigs fresh thyme

　　7 stems fresh basil

　　2 sprigs fresh rosemary

　　3 (9 × 6-inch) sheets konbu (see Pantry, page 253)

　　1 lemon, halved

　　1 cup kosher salt

　　1 tablespoon plus 1 teaspoon packed light brown sugar

　　

CHICKEN

1 whole (3-pound) chicken, preferably free-range

　　1 lemon, halved, plus wedges for serving

　　1 garlic clove, smashed

　　8 sprigs fresh thyme

　　1 sprig fresh rosemary

　　1 stem fresh basil

　　Extra-virgin olive oil

　　Freshly ground black pepper

　　

Step 1

To prepare the brine, crush the thyme, basil, and rosemary with your hands and drop into a large, deep bowl or pot. Add the konbu, lemon, salt, sugar, and 1 gallon hot water. Stir until the salt and sugar dissolve. Set inside a large bowl of ice and water (or simply refrigerate) and stir until cool.

　　

Step 2

Completely submerge the chicken in the brine. Cover tightly and refrigerate for 12 hours.

　　

Step 3

To roast the chicken, preheat the oven to 350°F. Set a wire rack on a rimmed baking sheet.

　　

Step 4

Remove the chicken from the brine; discard the brine. Use paper towels to pat the chicken completely dry. Stuff with the lemon, garlic, thyme, rosemary, and basil. Truss the chicken by tying together the legs and securing the wings against the body with kitchen twine. Use a sharp knife to score each leg and thigh with 3 long cuts, each 1/2 inch deep, to ensure that the dark meat is cooked through before the breast dries out. Rub 1 teaspoon oil all over the chicken and set it on the rack. Place in the oven, cavity side facing front.

　　

Step 5

Roast for 25 minutes, then rotate the pan and roast for 20 minutes longer. Raise the oven temperature to 375°F and roast for 10 minutes longer or until the juices run clear when you tip the chicken. Remove from the oven and let rest for 15 minutes.

　　

Step 6

Heat the oven to broil. Arrange the oven rack 6 inches from the heat source.

　　

Step 7

Cut the chicken into 4 pieces (2 breasts, 2 whole legs). Return to the rack, skin side up. Drizzle with a little oil, then broil until the skin is crackling and crisp, about 2 minutes.

　　

Step 8

Transfer the chicken to a serving plate and pour the pan juices all over. Sprinkle with pepper and serve with lemon wedges.

　　

c’est bon

Step 9

The wire rack you use for cooling cookies can do double duty as a roasting rack. Simply set it inside a rimmed baking sheet. By roasting a chicken—or anything for that matter—on a rack, you get even heat circulation all around and avoid a soggy bottom. Also, raising the food above the rim of the pan helps it brown nicely.

　　Reprinted with permission from Home Cooking with Jean-Georges: My Favorite Simple Recipes by Jean-Georges Vongerichten with Genevieve Ko. Copyright © 2011 by Jean-Georges Vongerichten; photographs copyright © 2011 by John Kernick. Published by Clarkson Potter/Publishers, an imprint of the Crown Publishing Group. All Rights Reserved.Jean-Georges Vongerichten is one of the most influential chefs in the world, having single-handedly redefined haute French cuisine, lightening and refining it by adding select Asian accents. He is the chef-owner of dozens of restaurants in fourteen cities around the world. His flagship restaurant, Jean Georges, at New York's Columbus Circle, is one of six restaurants in the United States to have been awarded three coveted Michelin stars; it received four stars from the New York Times. The winner of multiple James Beard Foundation awards, he lives in New York City and Waccabuc, New York, with his family.Genevieve Ko is a cookbook author and the senior food editor at Good Housekeeping magazine. She has written for Martha Stewart Living, Gourmet, and Fine Cooking and lives in New York City with her family.